Health Care's an Issue For Young People Too

Published: December 1, 1994

To the Editor:

What a difference two years make. In 1992 I worked for the United States Senate. Parking and plants for the office from the United States Botanical Gardens were perks I took for granted. But when I left, I realized the biggest perk I was leaving behind: health care coverage.

Early this year I found a great job, except that it lacked health care coverage. Today more young people are forced to take jobs that don't offer health care.

According to the census, nearly one in four Americans had no health insurance at some point between February 1990 and September 1992. Even more startling, nearly half of people aged 18 to 24 had a lapse in coverage during the same period.

Many in Congress argue that controlling the costs of the elderly is more important than controlling them for the young. Legislators rely on the Congressional Budget Office's estimate that an average 25-year-old consumes only $1,500 in health care costs per year, while an average 65-year-old consumes around $3,500.

But this approach is shortsighted. Look at how fast costs skyrocket when uninsured young people must go to the emergency room for a doctor's visit. Ultimately, the Federal Government will be forced to shoulder that burden.

It was clear that last summer's proposal of community rating, where young people would pay close to double the average premium of $1,000, was not the answer. At a time when the real median income of households headed by people under age 30 is 15 percent lower than it was for baby boomers 20 years ago, now is not the time to ask young people to pay more than their share.

Ultimately, Congress expects younger Americans to pay for many of the legislative actions it intends to initiate this year. Congress is on notice that young people expect to be on the agenda somewhere. After all, by 1998 today's youth will represent the majority of America's voters. You can bet they will not forget the outcome that today's public policies had on them. TAMMY FINE New York, Nov. 27, 1994